I, HINATA
by Cantor
Summary: With her days limited, Hinata prepares for her own death by recording her own life, from her misfortunes, her accomplishments, and the love she had for the man who inspired her to keep going; the man who helped her rebel against Konoha.
1. Dear Konoha

_Disclaimer – A FANFIC_ _INSPIRED BY ROBERT GRAVE'S _I, CLAUDIUS

**I, HINATA**

**1**

_I need someone, namely a female fanfic writer, to help me make this sound more 'feminine'. Not saying a woman can't write like this—I just mean I need a woman to personalize it, and make it so if someone doesn't realize who Hinata is, they still know it's a woman speaking... Am I making sense? All I know is I'm not a skilled enough writer to be able to do it myself. - Cantor_

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I, Hyuuga Hinata, esteemed clan head of the Konoha Hyuuga clan, and master of the Byakuugan, am one who many would think has lived a privileged life. Born into a noble family, many would think I had wealth, respect, and power at my fingertips from a young age. This is simply not true. My life has been troubled with many problems, and it has only been through hard work and perseverance that I now stand where I do. In these short twenty-two years, I have accomplished much. Originally called a failure and as both a ninja, and a Hyuuga, I am now one of the most respected and powerful women in Konoha, and like any Hyuuga would be proud to do, I have the opportunity to only increase my standing among Konoha. However, I am no true Hyuuga. I never considered myself to be. Nobility, and all that comes with it, wealth, respect, power; what use are these? How do these help me live a fulfilling life? If life is only given to us to constantly work to increase our standing, rather than live happily, then I would rather not live. That said, I, Hyuuga Hinata, will die in two weeks.

And this is what leads me to why I write this... for lack of a better word, record. I will detail my life, my accomplishments—how I overcame adversity both within my own family and in the village of Konoha, how I avoided a terrible fate and the hatred of the majority of the branch house for most of my life with the plan of the village prankster, how I went from village-wide known failure to worldwide known S-class ninja, how I, Hyuuga Hinata, fell in love with the man whose courage and strength has saved an ungrateful Konoha time and time again, and inspired me to do the same.

This is not my only goal however. Konoha is filled to the brim with shinobi, who only know what they are told by the village and the nobility. A veil has been pulled over their eyes, and they don't know about anything beyond it, and those who do know, do nothing. This veil will undoubtedly shield them from the truth of what has led up to now, and what will happen in a few days. I intend to leave this record behind so that others can learn _our_ side of the story, and hopefully, the shinobi of Konoha will understand and learn to not always trust the authorities in situations—to question what they see in front of them and find out for themselves who the true criminals are.

This is my goal. I hope I succeed.

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How do I begin? Although I wrote that introduction before, and I thought this story through beforehand, as I begin to put pen to paper to start the actual story, I have no idea how to start. The task seems daunting.

I smile at the idea I've just had, which was, _'What would he do?'_. As I think of the answer, which would be, _'write as I think and not care for appearance, just do it as it comes to you,' _or something along those lines at least, I feel like that suites me perfectly. After all, it's only fitting that my writing idolizes the words of the man I love, just as I have idolized him in person throughout my life.

As I said earlier, I was born into nobility. Wealthy, dignified, powerful, virtuous, honorable, elegant, elite, all of these come to mind when someone thinks of the Hyuuga, my family. To the outside world we epitomize the patrician class, and we portray ourselves as perfect. I have always been at odds with this.

I was always a shy girl, and my insecurity clashed with the ideals of what a Hyuuga should be. This was especially apparent in my speech, which from an early age, was constantly wrought with a horrific stutter. My father, the clan head, only agitated the whole problem with his overbearing and glares of disapproval. I can't remember my father ever looking at me kindly when I was young. Or when I was older, for that matter.

According to my mother, who died shortly after the birth of my younger sister, Hanabi, my stutter wasn't inborn. While I was alone, or even alone with just my mother, I would speak with a normal cadence. I suppose one could say my father is the reason for my stutter, which eventually became such a habit I might as well have been born with it.

My mother and father were like night and day. One was cold and foreboding, unforgiving to someone who wasn't prepared, like one would be if they had forgotten a blanket to sleep under. The other bright and cheery, whose warmth flowed through you and made a smile creep onto your face. Even now, I have a sad smile at the memories of my mother singing softly as she would walk through the clan's gardens with me. How I miss my mother.

Thinking on it, I feel bad for my younger sister, who despite having a significantly better childhood in many respects, she still never had the joy of a mother like I did. I do not even think she realizes what a loss she suffered, which only makes me pity her more.

My sister. She is my exact opposite. If I were weak and shy, she was strong and confident. When we were younger, Hanabi was recognized by many as the one who ought to be heiress of the Hyuuga clan, as opposed to me, whom according to the clan laws, was the rightful heiress by being the older sibling. A lot of my problems stemmed from that law, and I am glad that I finally changed it, along with other clan laws, when I finally did become the head of the clan. The clan elders were furious! Even so, I had support from much of the clan, and the village.

That's for later though. I don't want to jump ahead and then go back, making the story hard to follow. Where was I? Ah, family. Yes, Hanabi was a difficult sister to have. There were many times where I agreed with the elders and my father that she should inherit the clan, but as we grew older, I realized just how much the clan needed me, and, forgive me for saying, dear sister, if you read this when I am gone, what harm I feel she might have done to the clan.

This isn't to say she would have truly been anything worse than my father, but there would have been no change, leading only to stagnation of the clan, buried in the main house's belief that the branch house was only meant to serve them. The branch house, in case anyone reading this does not know, as many in the future will not, since it is now gone, was the second half to the Hyuuga family, which was divided by Main and Branch. If you were in the main family, you were the leading family, the aristocrats of the already aristocratic family, with the power of life and death over the branch house family, who were the servants and bodyguards of the Main family.

Does that make sense? Maybe not. My cousin Neji, who I will be naming my successor when I am gone, was once a member of the branch house. His father and my father were twin brothers, but because his father was born only minutes afterwards, he was part of the branch family, while I was part of the main. When I was three or so, I met Neji for the first time, despite living on the same clan compound. He was commanded to protect me from that day on. He was only 4. Still, he was trained in the jyuuken—my families own fighting style, which utilizes the Byakuugan, our doujutsu. This was all done so that he could protect me, and essentially die in my place, should I be threatened.

This didn't just mean jumping in front of me to take a stray kunai. This was even more than that. This was fighting my fights for me, so that I would never have to. When he died, he would presumably be replaced by another random branch house member, as if his life did not matter at all. Though I never expressly told this to Neji, he always meant more to me than that, and I hope he realized this later in life by my actions as clan head.

This act of giving life for the sake of the main house members actually happened more than might be thought. Neji's father actually had to do it for my father, shortly after I was kidnapped by a Kumo nin. He had intended to take me so Kumo could steal my Byakuugan eyes, and thus our bloodline, either through simply implanting my eyes or even worse, using me to breed a new Hyuuga clan. But my father killed the kidnapper and rescued me. Kumo demanded compensation for the loss of their diplomat, which this ninja was posing as, claiming that they had no intention of stealing my eyes. Their 'compensation' was my father's life.

While my father was apparently willing to go, perhaps one of his few redeeming qualities in life was his honor, the elders would not allow this, because it would still allow Kumo to have a set of Byakuugan eyes. To prevent this, they had my uncle go, who was part of the Branch house as I said, and because of this, he had what all branch members have; the caged bird seal. The seal eliminates all traces of the Byakuugan once a Branch member dies. This is why Branch members were expendable. Or at least, that was the excuse. I feel that it was truly the main house's cowardice, and they were clinging on to life selfishly... Again, this is something I hope I have changed.

Losing his father for the sake of mine caused Neji great pain, and I believe he especially felt this when he had to protect me, as was his duty at the time. I did not realize this when I was little, although I knew Neji hated me. In fact, I did not find out the full extent of his hatred until the Chuunin exams, when I was twelve years old, a full six or seven years after the death of his father.

Just after the second phase of the exam, there were preliminary matches between different chuunin hopefuls, and Neji and I were pitted against each other. I can remember my natural shyness, combined with an utter fear of my cousin build up when I walked down to face him. I despised those moments, and I felt so lonely, and so terrified. Neji hated me, and he did not plan on showing any mercy.

Kiba, knowing of my relationship with Neji, had even warned me after he had fought against Naruto-kun, "If you're matched up against the sand nin, or Neji, give up, Hinata."

It was discouraging to hear, but I believed it and I had fully intended on giving up as soon as the examiner started the fight, but when I looked up at Kurenai-sensei, Naruto-kun, Shino, and the other genin watching, I felt I should at least attempt the fight, if not win. If one Hyuuga trait had been passed down to me, it was pride. And I had too much pride to simply give up out of fear in front of my friends.

The match started out with a silence so absolute, I could hear the other genins' breathing in the stands, and when they shifted their feet, it sounded like they were stomping. My own heart was beating furiously in my chest, and I couldn't even meet my cousin's eyes. I despised myself.

"Before we begin, Hinata-sama, allow me to give you some advice," he said. "Give up."

Neji always knew of my lack of confidence, my shyness and insecurities...He cruelly capitalized on them in the beginning of the fight. "You are not fit to be a ninja. You just follow along and go with someone else's idea. You always feel inferior, and you truly do not wish to take this exam."

I could barely speak after his words, stuttering so badly I'm still not sure how I was understood. I told him he was wrong though, that I wanted to change myself, but he was relentless.

"Hinata-sama, you are indeed a spoiled child from the main family. People cannot change. A failure is a failure, personality and power will not change, and that is why terms like elites and failures exist. Everyone judges you by how your face and body look, how intelligent you are, your abilities, and your personality. People suffer due to their limits, and live. I can see these things, with my Byakuugan, and I know you are just trying to be tough."

He had activated his Byakuugan, using its ability of insight to read my body posture like a book. "You truly want to leave here right now." I did. I was shaking where I stood, and couldn't even begin to form a response to his barrage of verbal attacks.

"You cannot fool my eyes. You already predicted in your mind that you will lose. Putting your arm in front of you to protect yourself, like putting a wall up, touching your lips, showing your mind is disturbed...in other words, you already know that you cannot change. That your loss was fated the moment your name appeared with mine on the board behind us."

All of this, at the moment, was true. Neji's Byakuugan was recognized as the most developed in the Hyuuga clan, showing the most potential. If he had been born into the main family, he would have been the ideal heir. And at that moment, I felt like crawling under my bed's sheets and hiding myself from the world, crying in self-loathing and pity. But one golden voice interrupted everything: Neji's voice, my thoughts, the silence surrounding the fight, and in it, I found my strength.

"You can!" Naruto shouted furiously. "You can change, Hinata! Don't listen to him! And you!" he shouted, pointing at Neji. "Don't label people like that you idiot! Beat him up, Hinata, don't take that from him!"

And just like that, all my fears evaporated. Thank you, Naruto, although I know you'll never read this. You did more for me throughout my life than you can possibly realize. The least I can do now is help people understand that you were never a monster like Konoha believes, and hopefully, as I tell more about you throughout this record, it will become more and more apparent how much you did for the people of Konoha. You were Konoha's staunchest ally, not its enemy.

I ended up fighting Neji, and throughout the fight, Naruto cheered me on, making me fight more and more fiercely, until I could see Neji's shock with my Byakuugan. I even forced him on the defensive at times. Still, I was no match for Neji and his skill at jyuuken during that fight, and he defeated me eventually. Even after I knew I couldn't win any longer though, when I was down and beaten, I kept getting back up both because of Naruto's constant encouragement and belief in me, and because I knew I had to prove to Neji that people could change. It became my goal throughout that fight to show Neji that I finally understood his pain, his anger at the main house, and I tried to show him that if I could change things, he could change as well.

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**End of CHAPTER 1**

Email me if you're interested in helping me out with the narration style. And no, I don't mean including stuttering in the writing. Hinata is intelligent, and refined, being from the Hyuuga family, but namely I need a woman's thought process to be narrated I guess. Or something. I'm not even sure exactly what I need at the moment. I'm looking for novels narrated by women to read so I can get an idea of what I want. Suggestions?


	2. My Inspiration

_Disclaimer – A FANFIC_ _INSPIRED BY ROBERT GRAVE'S _I, CLAUDIUS

**I, HINATA**

**2**

_So here is chapter two of I, Hinata. I hope you enjoy it. I like the idea of this fic, since I haven't personally read any fic of this type on fanfiction as of yet. If anyone does find or know of one, please point it out to me, I'd love to read it. Feedback is of course welcome through Review or PM. Till next time, Happy reading!. - Cantor_

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Why was Naruto so influential to me during that one moment against Neji? Well, some might point to the fact that I had already harbored a crush for the blonde haired, blue eyed boy of Konoha. But it was more than that. While my crush certainly affected me in any situation involving Naruto, the fight with Neji and Naruto's encouragement came more from my memories of from when we were younger.

I remember the day clearly. That morning I had been woken up and brought before my father in the dojo for training. Most mornings began like this. A branch member would escort me in, bow to my father and take their leave. Leaving me alone in the cold room with an even colder man.

Father would be kneeling on a mat, dressed in his traditional Hyuuga robes. He'd start by staring at me in silence, finding every flaw he could, and then he'd enumerate them, lashing me verbally for my incompetence as a Hyuuga. Sometimes reducing me to tears. Then we would go over the jyuuken. His form would be rigid, but would flow from one form to the next easily. I would follow his movements, my limbs would be limp, and my movements jerky as I lost balance or moved clumsily.

Father would watch me with his Byakuugan, and often he'd snort or sigh in frustration. Then he would start over, shaking his head. He never had to turn around for me to know he was disappointed.

One day, he simply stopped when I stumbled. "Hinata," he said.

"Y-Yes, Father?"

"You cannot perform even the most basic forms of the jyuuken. Your byakuugan is pathetic at best, and even now, after working so long with you, I see nothing but an insecure girl, doomed to failure as a ninja, and as a true Hyuuga. Your mother would be ashamed."

I hung my head. I couldn't to come up with a response. He was right. Tears began to well up in my eyes. I wanted to tell him he was wrong, that I would be a strong Hyuuga. That mother would never think that about anyone. But what could I say to do that when I'd already given up the battle? Father knew best, or so I thought. My tears hit the dojo floor.

"You will spar against Hanabi." Father said. "Even though you are older, she is far stronger in jyuuken. I doubt you will last long, Hinata."

A branch member entered with Hanabi, and left the same way as he had when he'd brought me in. He glanced at me, and even though I tried to hide my face and my tears, he clearly saw, just as I clearly saw the disgust on his face. The left, closing the door behind him.

"Even the Branch members do not respect you," Father commented. "A pity, a Main house member who can't even command the respect of her subordinates."

Father sat down between the two sisters. Hanabi looked up at me and gave a small smile. I tried to return the smile, knowing that Hanabi didn't want to hurt me. But if Hanabi didn't do this then both of them would be punished.

I reluctantly got into the beginning jyuuken stance. Hanabi followed suit.

"Begin."

At Father's word, Hinabi came forward, fierce as ever, her Byakuugan active. I was only a moment behind her, activating my Byakuugan and shifting my feet to try and avoid her blows. Almost immediately it became a flurry of blows. Hinabi was striking at me, pushing her chakra through his fingertips and palms to try and attack my tenketsu; I was pushing my chakra equally hard out of the tenketsu to try and keep them active. I continued to block, fending off Hinabi as much as I could.

As the fight got on, Hinabi became angrier. I could see the frustration in her eyes as she went low and struck at my legs, trying to stop me from moving. I managed to sweep her hands aside with my right arm, giving me a chance as I looked down on Hanabi to strike her in the neck with my left. It would instantly knock her out if I were to close that tenkestu. Our eyes met, and I hesitated.

Hanabi took full advantage of that moment and drove her palm up through the opening in my arms, striking me in the chest. I stood, shocked at the sudden pain, and Hanabi followed through with a flurry of more blows, going down my arms to completely disable me, following with my legs. I slumped down to my knees, unable to move, and Hanabi raised her hand, poised for the killing strike. It was a formality, but it showed clearly that I was defeated.

"Enough." Father's words cut through the tense atmosphere louder than any other sound could. Hanabi lowered her arms and stepped back. I simply stayed there, unable to move.

"You are dismissed, Hanabi." Father said. Hanabi gave a small bow and left the room, closing the dojo door behind her.

Father looked down at me critically. "She is your younger sister," he said. "And yet, she beats you. Why?"

"Her jyuuken—"

"She has only just started studying the jyuuken," Father cut in. "Despite your distinct lack of potential in mastering the jyuuken forms, she has only just begun. Her forms are not significantly better than yours. She is not as strong physically. She has less chakra than you. Why does she beat you?"

I remained silent. Once again, I didn't have an answer.

"Because you lack the determination to do what is necessary! You are not confident enough! You hide behind doors, peeking into rooms when you should be striding in, speaking softly knowing you deserve to be heard!" Father began to pace back and forth in his rant. People rarely saw him like this, except for me. He saved this anger just for me. He stopped his pacing and looked me in the eyes. "You are a constant disappointment to me Hinata. Leave, now."

I remember running from the dojo, my tears streaming down my face. I couldn't understand why Father was so cruel. I ran out of the house, trying to find some place to hide away until my tears dried up. I don't remember the exact route I took, or how long I had been running. But at some time later that day, perhaps the afternoon, I ended up at the park.

I had always been envious of the kids that played at the park. They always seemed so happy, together, and friendly. They were always playing ninja, tag, racing, or just talking. Whenever I would walk by with my father or another Hyuuga, I'd always want to go into the park to play. That wasn't allowed though. Father didn't think mingling with the other children, especially those who weren't in a noble clan, was beneath me.

Ordinarily I would have simply watched the other children from afar, too afraid to get into trouble with my father. But whether it was because I was too distraught to consider the consequences or because I didn't think I would get in anymore trouble, I displayed an unusual amount of rebellious behavior. And that one action of going inside the park allowed me to discover Uzumaki Naruto.

He wasn't anything special physically at the time of course. There was no sign he would turn into the famous ninja he later became. There was one quality that stood out though, especially to me, who was shy, unconfident, and afraid of my own shadow. Uzumaki Naruto was courageous, and he shined with self-assurance.

A younger boy was being bullied by three older boys. He clutched onto his ball and looked around at the three surround him frantically with wide eyes. He looked like he was on the verge of tears. The older boys were shoving him back and forth between them, laughing.

I don't even remember exactly what the boys were saying to the younger boy, or what had started the issue. But I do distinctly remember, as I stood, watching the issue play out, pushing my fingers together anxiously, a steady set of footsteps walk up behind me, and stop to watch for a moment. I turned and looked over my shoulder and saw for the first time in my life, Uzumaki Naruto. He had brilliant blue eyes and sun-kissed hair. On each side of his face were three thin lines, almost like whiskers. At the time I thought it was some strange Inuzuka tattoo. He was dressed in a black shirt with a red spiral on the front and white shorts.

He stood there for a moment in silence before his face contorted in anger. He strode over to the older boys and grabbed on by the shoulder roughly. The boy he grabbed paused and looked over his shoulder at Naruto. "What?" he asked.

Naruto looked at the three boys. "Leave him alone!" he yelled.

The other boys all took note of Naruto then, and turned away from the younger boy to focus on Naruto instead. The older boys looked at him, sizing him up, and burst out laughing. "Or what, kid?"

Naruto ignored the jeers and glanced at the boy with his ball. He gave him a small smile. "What's your name?" he asked.

The boy clutched his ball tightly and then shakily answered, "Udon.."

Naruto nodded. "Well, Udon, you might want to back up," and then suddenly hit the older boy to his left in the face, knocking him over. "What the hell?" the boy on the ground said rolling over in pain. He was holding his nose. I could see some blood streaming through his fingers and his eyes were starting to tear up.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm more than enough to take you three on." Naruto announced, getting into a very sloppy fighting stance. Even then I could tell he had no training in fighting, but he still held his ground against the other three for the sake of a boy he apparently didn't even know.

While the boy on the ground dealt with his nose, the other two charged at Naruto. By now the entire playground had stopped, and everyone was watching the fight. Children started to gather around. Naruto, for his part, seemed to come alive while he fought. What I had thought was a sloppy fighting stance was in fact something Naruto worked well with. It wasn't nearly as structured as jyuuken, but there was no denying Naruto was dealing some heavy hits to the other boys.

He dodged the first punch thrown at him and quickly jabbed the boy in the face, before ducking underneath the other boys punch. He charged forward, under both of their arms, and wrapped his arms around one of their waists, bowling him over. Naruto was on top of him, and began to rain punches down on the boy as he straddled him. The other boy pulled Naruto off and threw him to the side, and then helped the other two boys up. It was back to three on one, but Naruto had managed to hurt two of the boys. One seemed to have a broken nose, and the other would definitely have a black eye tomorrow.

The three of them charged forward and Naruto barely managed to duck this time and swing his leg out, tripping the first boy that came at him. As he fell, Naruto climbed up to block the second punch, grab his hands, separate them, and headbutt the other boy. The boy recoiled, and held his hand to his face. His lip was split.

The children in the playground began to chant, "fight, fight, fight!"

The three boys looked at each other as if they were amazed one younger boy was fighting them like this. Each of them were sporting some signs of Naruto's hits. They got angry. This time though, they were careful, and surrounded Naruto. Two of them went at Naruto from the front, trying to get a hit on the slippery blonde. Naruto was managed to evade or block most of the hits until the third boy came from behind and grabbed him, keeping him in place. The two boys in front grinned. Naruto squirmed, trying to get free.

"Looks like you were no match for us. You should have given up and run off," one of the boys said, with an amazing amount of arrogance considering it was three versus one. Nobody seemed to notice though.

The two boys took turns hitting Naruto, and the blonde just grunted with each hit. They started one his face, easily splitting his lip with the first hit, and breaking his nose with the second. Then they kept hitting his stomach. When they were satisfied, they took a step back, admiring their work. Most of the playground was quiet now the 'fight' chants had stopped… most of the children probably didn't expect this fight to go this far.

"You shouldn't have messed with us," the kid who had spoken before said. He seemed to be acting as a ringleader. "We're in the academy."

Naruto gave a chuckle, despite his shape, and the boy frowned, walking closer. "What's so funny?" he asked.

Just as he got close, Naruto flung his head back into the boy behind him, hitting his nose all over again. He fell back onto the ground, and before the boy in front of him could react, Naruto grabbed his head between his hands, pulled him down, and kneed him in the face. The boy's body went limp as he fell unconscious, and Naruto let him fall to the ground.

The third boy looked at Naruto, his victorious smirk replaced with a tinge of fear, and took a step backwards. "Don't come closer!" the kid said, trying to sound like he was warning Naruto. But it was clear he was more afraid of what Naruto would do to him than he was threatening the blonde genin.

Naruto kept walking closer, or shuffling really. His previous agility was gone, and it seemed like he might collapse at any moment. I still wish, to this day, that I had gone to help him. I would have gotten to know Naruto sooner. I didn't though, and it was then that a ninja appeared in the group. He was dressed in the usual Konoha chuunin vest. He glared at all of the children around, and separated the fight. I left with many of the others, but not before I saw the brilliant smile Naruto gave to Udon, telling him not to get into trouble anymore.

As I left the park that day, I remember wishing to myself that I could stand up to my father like Naruto had stood up to those bullies. He served as an example for me for years, and although I could never achieve the same levels of confidence as he, I nevertheless followed him around, always fascinated by the enigma that was Uzumaki Naruto.

It was this early memory that sprang to my mind when Naruto encouraged me in that fight. Neji was a bully, like any other, and of the many lessons Naruto had given me, standing up to bullies was one of the first. With Naruto's encouragement came the strongest resolve I've ever had. I would show Naruto, my crush, that I had the same determination and resolve as he did when we were children. And while I did lose that fight with Neji, I fell to the ground I fell with a smile, thinking of that day at the park and how I was following Naruto's example.

In that one day at the park which I still remember so clearly, I had met the most influential man in my life. Naruto would become my obsession, my closest friend, my lover, and my leader. Uzumaki Naruto, with his brilliant blue eyes, blonde hair, and his never say die attitude would become the leader of the Konoha rebellion. His smile and steadfast determination would lead us all through the toughest times under the regime, and even today as I write this, the rebellion is still fighting to bring the Konoha of our childhood back.

The Konoha that died on that fateful day of the Chuunin Exam finals, after Orochimaru assasinated Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage of Konoha. That was when the troubles began.

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**END OF CHAPTER 2**

Hope you enjoyed it! I'm keeping the chapters shorter for this fic so I can write them quicker. I will probably start doing that for Maelstrom as well. We shall see. If it ends up with quicker updates for you guys and I can continue at that pace, then I don't see any reason to not do it. Next chapter we get into more non-canon ideas by the way. Sarutobi dies and the new regime takes over of Konoha. I'll probably have it up by the end of the week.


	3. New Hope, New Fears

_Disclaimer – _"I never thought it would get this bad. I never thought the Reestablishment would take things so far. They're incinerating culture, the beauty of diversity. The new citizens of our world will be reduced to nothing but numbers, easily interchangeable, easily removable, easily destroyed for disobedience. We have lost our humanity." – Tahereh Mafi, _Shatter Me_

**I, HINATA**

**3**

_Chapter 3 is up! A few days late, but I think it was worth it. I changed the point at which I was going to end it and basically decided to break this chapter into chapters 3 and 4. I hope you can all see the darker turn this is taking for Konoha, and I think within the next two chapters it'll definitely be apparent. Anyway, read on and tell me what you think – Cantor_

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It was the day after the Sandaime Hokage's funeral. The village hadn't even been repaired. Signs of the small scale Sound-Sand invasion still lingered. Vestiges of the bloody cacophony were everywhere. The streets were still full of rubble from crumbled structures. Buried, discarded weapons littered the ground and the buildings. Windows were shattered. Bodies were still being recovered here and there, sometimes with a family member crying over them as they were carted off to the hospital morgue. Sometimes, there wasn't anyone living to mourn the body. Orochimaru's attack had been so costly for Konoha. The village was at her weakest, in those days.

The rain from the previous day and made the earth swell in thick mud, caking everything in the street with the sludge. While it washed away the blood, everything else still remained. For the beginnings of the rain, the building walls wept red and the streets seemed to have veins of blood running through the city. And just like that, in almost no time at all, it was clean, and just the ghostly reminder of the discarded weapons and the desiccated corpses remained. Stabbed and mutilated with weapons; burned, drowned and destroyed with jutsu. The only thing left to do was clean up the bodies and weep for our lost comrades.

I remember walking through the streets back then, trying help with the effort to find survivors trapped in rubble that Orochimaru's summons had caused, or any other use I could use my Byakuugan for.

It was my first experience with war. Of true fighting. I had learned in the academy and in my family dojo what to expect from violence. I had discovered in the chuunin exams just how brutal our techniques could really be, how devastating jutsu could rend a human body, but this was my first time seeing the effects of ninja fighting other ninja on a large scale. And it had struck close to home. Too close.

People moved about in a numb haze. They'd lost friends, family. People they'd known their whole lives. In those days I spent using my Byakuugan to search through the rubble, I remember clearly the pain and anguish on one mother's face as she dug through the stones of a crushed house. I had spotted him, his eyes were open, and his chakra was still running through his body. He was alive.

The woman dropped to her knees and began tearing away the blocks of stone and wood slats. Other's helped, but she ignored the sharp nails, the broken glass, everything. She was in a frenzy to find her son, who had gone missing at some point during the attack when he and his academy classmates were escorting villagers. He hadn't returned when the fighting died down.  
As the mother dug, I watched as the boy drew ragged breaths. Blood mixed with spittle was seeping out of his mouth. When the boy's hand was uncovered, he reached to squeeze his mother's hand. The mother gave a cry and grabbed onto it for a moment before remembering she still had more to dig. People began to watch. The boy gave a weak smile, but his eyes were sad. Maybe because he could hear his mother, maybe because he knew it was too late. His chakra swelled for a moment, surged in power, like a heart giving its final beat, and then it stopped. Slowing to nothing. In my eyes, his chakra dimmed and finally went out.

His hand, which had squeezed his mother's hand back for that brief moment before, now lay limp. Everyone who had stopped to watch knew. The boy was dead. Everyone except for the mother, who dug furiously, and nobody had the heart or the courage to tell her what she'd find when she moved the final bits of rubble. I still remember her scream clearly today as she cradled the body of her young son in her lap.

Another day during the cleanup, inside the very Arena where it had started, most of the genin teams had been assigned to clean up the corpses. Team 8, with me, Kiba, and Shino, were all there along with team 7 and team 10. Several other genin teams from other years were there also. All of us had been there when the fighting had just started, yet when we came back afterwards, in the quiet of the arena, surrounded by death, it was an entirely different world.

I used my Byakuugan to quickly point out whose chakra was still circulating, if any, to quickly flag down a medic nin for help. That stage didn't take long, and then it was up to us to dig through the survivors in the arena. Many of them were strewn about in the seats. Some had never even left their spot. They had died from a stray kunai or other weapon as they had been in their seat, and so they continued sitting in death, a single of stream of blood sometimes being the only sign of their gruesome and inglorious death.

One team had found of their teammates in the stands. He had disappeared in the fighting. He was slumped over a group of dead civilians, a short sword standing out of his back and sticking through his stomach. He had gotten up to protect one of the civilians it seemed, blocking weapons thrown at their sleeping forms, only for another ninja to come up behind him and stab him. He had been one of the best in his age, and had been considered a prodigy of his graduating class several years ago.

When people look back on that day, they will hear of that sleeping Genjutsu that Orochimaru's troops had used, and they might consider it a small mercy—a genjutsu to keep the fighting among ninja's only. But it was actually the opposite. When the invasionary force had put all of the civilians to sleep, it gave them innumerable hostages to attack and slaughter. If a Konoha ninja didn't go to protect them, the civilian would die. If a Konoha ninja did protect them, the Sand and Sound ninja could double team him, one to attack from the front and one from the back as the Konoha ninja was distracted protecting the civilian. And if nobody came to protect the civilian, well, nothing was stopping the Sand or Sound ninja from crippling Konoha's workforce; its lifeblood.

This strategy was easily apparent when we went to clear out the arena. One whole section of seats had simply been burnt with a katon jutsu. The bodies were charred and smelled of burnt flesh. I remember Kiba gagging and throwing up when we got to that part of the Arena. He had touched one, trying to move it, and it fell apart into part ash and part charred flesh. The outside had been seared while the inner was still partially bloody. He had to leave and help in some other way, the smell and sight was too much for him.

Later on in the Konoha rebellion, when we were in our safehouses hiding from the Executioners, Kiba would sometimes get sick at the smell of their Katon jutsu. So many comrades of ours had died by their fires, but and he still had a problem with the smell of burnt flesh. He always said it was because of the first time we saw the corpses in the arena though.

In light of all of the death, victory seemed so hollow in those days. We had lost promising academy students who would bolster our ranks in the coming years, accomplished ninja and feared prodigies. Teachers had died. Civilians who made our weapons and grew our food had died, leaving us with a crippled economy and an even bleaker outlook of survival.

People began to talk about leaving the village, trying to start new somewhere. The civilians especially. Orochimaru was so close to finishing Konoha even after his invasion had failed. We had no inspiring leader like the Sandaime to offer his words of wisdom and remind us of the will of fire. So many had lost loved ones, family, friends, teammates and teachers. . They needed some meaning, some sign that things would improve.

And then the council, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane found that light. A new Hokage. One who was strong. One who had endured the tough times of previous wars and knew how to handle them. One who was fiercely loyal to Konoha. One who could bring us back to our former glory.

Danzo Shimura was a serious man. He was a man who many people my age and even older, didn't know about and had never heard of. He was an older man, around the Sandaime's age, but where the Sandaime walked hunched and used a cane to support himself, Danzo stood proudly with his cane and his injuries, as if to defy them and prove his own personal strength could overcome any weakness. He exuded a strong presence of confidence and power, and his stern mannerisms only strengthened that perception.

For Konoha, Danzo Shimura was exactly what we needed. Or what we thought we needed. There were very few who didn't think that Danzo was perfect for the job. When it was announced, our jounin sensei were some of the few who disagreed with the idea.

We all stood outside of the Hokage residence awaiting Danzo's first appearance as Hokage. All of Konoha looked hopeful as Danzo shuffled out onto the balcony. He still used his cane and was still covered in bandages, but he couldn't have looked more regal and in control while wearing the ceremonial Hokage robes and hat. He looked like a leader should.

He looked over all of us, the entire village, with a sweep of his eye, and his mouth drew into a thin line. A faint hint of a smile.

"Konoha!" he said loudly, thumping his cane.

"We have suffered. Orochimaru, one of our own from years past, has betrayed us once more, for the last time."

People cheered. I found myself smiling with hope even as Danzo held his hand up for silence.

"He would not have had the ability to do this without the Sandaime's leniency. Now I do not mean to speak ill of someone who has passed away so soon, and especially one so dear to _all_ of our hearts, but it must be said. And rest assured, under my leadership, I will promise that we will no longer have to live in fear of the likes of traitors like Orochimaru or Uchiha Itachi. Under my leadership, men such as they will be brought to justice! No longer will threats to Konoha be allowed to roam free!"

Beside me, I remember Sasuke trying to decide whether to glower at Itachi's name or smile at the punishment Danzo was promising. Beside him, Naruto was paying more attention to the jouinin sensei's expressions, which weren't happy, in stark contrast to the rest of Konoha's citizens.

Another round of cheers rose. "I know you are all hurting. But now is the time to rebuild. Now is the time to support one another. Now you must brush yourselves off and pick yourselves up, and if you cannot do so on your own strength, then trust in mine. And I will guide us all to glory, and build Konoha up so strong that no one will challenge us ever again. Only then, under my leadership, will we know peace."

Later, when Danzo had disappeared back into the Hokage residence, planning the reorganization of Konoha, we all needed up following the jounin sensei away from the Hokage residence. The sensei all seemed to be following Kakashi, who was slowly leading them, of all places, back towards his own apartment.

I had never been in his apartment, so it was almost odd walking through the doorway and taking in Kakashi's living room. Only to find that it was one of the most ordinary living rooms ever. It was hardly furnished, with a couch and a TV and a small ottoman for putting your feet up. To the side in another room was a table, and a small kitchen adjoined that. Clothes and weapons were strewn everywhere.

Kurenai-sensei raised her eyebrows at the mess, but said nothing. No one did. The jounin knew it wasn't the time for jokes, and all of the genin picked up on the mood from them.

"I can't believe that Danzo will be our next Hokage," Kakashi said finally as he grabbed sake and poured it for the adults.

"Neither can I," Asuma agreed as he took the small cup of sake. "That man is insane."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked. "I don't remember every hearing about this guy, what's with him?"

Kakashi blinked as he took all of the genin in. "I don't remember inviting all of you in…" he watched as the rest of the genin filed in, team 7, team 8, team 10, Team Gai, and their jounin sensei.

"We invited ourselves," Sasuke commented. "What's wrong with the guy?"

"Yeah he seemed great to me," Ino said.

Asuma lit a cigarette, shaking his head before he blew the smoke out through his nose. "You don't get it, Danzo might seem calm and collected, but that's part of his problem. He believes that every shinobi should kill their emotions to be effective."

"He has his own little private army of ANBU like shinobi who share his beliefs." Kurenai commented.

"Both of you, they don't need to know this," Kakashi said. Beside him, Gai nodded.

Asuma grimaced. "You're right. Sorry guys, but this is just us adults being pessimistic. Danzo is probably the best choice for us right now, we just don't like it. For now, get some sleep, tomorrow is another day of cleaning up and trying to rebuild Konoha."

Just then Jiraiya ambled in as if he owned the place. "Do you really expect them to not pick up on how you feel about Danzo after you spoke so much? Even if you try to brush it off now like it was just some momentary pessimism, these brats aren't stupid. They'll catch on."

Kakashi sighed, and swirled his sake in his glass before downing it like a shot. "Guess so, Jiraiya-sama. It just feels wrong to speak ill about someone when they might actually help the village, even if it's not going to be the same village we all know and love afterward."

"Konoha will never be the same after this," Jiraiya said. "Not if Danzo has his way. But I have a plan. Another option in mind."

"Oh? And what is that other option, Jiraiya-sama?" Kurenai asked.

"Tsunade-hime."

The jounin in the room showed different levels of shock, and even some of the genin, who had remembered their lessons in the academy on Konoha history, expressed surprise.

"But Tsunade-sama has long since given up on Konoha," Gai said. "How would you convince her to return?"

"I don't," Jiraiya answered. "But I'll be taking my godson with me, and I'm hoping with his help we can convince the old broad to come back. If the jounin all vote her to replace Danzo, we'll have a much better Konoha at the end of this."

"But how am I supposed to help, Jiraiya?" Naruto asked. Naruto always referred to Jiraiya by his name, or several inappropriate nicknames when he was joking around. With only a few years left in the academy, Jiraiya had come back to the village and announced his guardianship over Naruto as his godfather. After that, Naruto's skill as a shinobi had increased by leaps and bounds, to the point that he quickly began to overtake Sasuke in many of the competitions in the academy, especially in ninjutsu. That aggravated Sasuke to no end as an Uchiha, who were normally so proficient at jutsu. Only Sasuke hadn't unlocked his Sharingan eyes yet.

Jiraiya eyed his godson. "I think you and your attitude might help her wake up out of a daze she's been in for years," he said. "You've got a certain spunk about you kid, a charisma."

Kakashi nodded along with him. "Yes, but you know Danzo won't like that idea, Jiraiya-sama."

Jiraiya waved a hand. At the time, I didn't even know Kakashi was referring to Naruto's role as Jinchuriki. I don't think anyone even caught on to what Kakashi might be hinting at. "Bah, don't worry about it Kakashi. We'll be out and back before the damn old bastard even knows we've left."

"Why don't we just vote Danzo out now if you jounin have the power to do it," Naruto asked. "Let's just kick him out if he's so bad!"

Asuma put out his cigarette in the corner and went to stand next to Kurenai. "It's not that simple. Right now, everyone is on edge, afraid of Konoha falling apart. People are even thinking of leaving, I'm sure we've all heard the whispers from the civilians. They don't feel safe here. But after Danzo's speech, he did at least restore some faith in Konoha, and made us believe in ourselves again. Voting him out now would put us right back where we were."

The room all nodded somberly. Jiraiya coughed into his hand. "Naruto, go back to our place and grab our things for an extended mission. I'll meet you at Icharuku's. I've got to discuss some things with the jounin here. For the rest of you brats, Please excuse us for now."

Everyone nodded and filed out, and I left wondering which would be the better choice, Danzo, or Tsunade. For the life of me, I couldn't decide at the time. I hadn't known much about either. That was before the root patrols started though, before Danzo showed us his special brand of security.

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**End of CHAPTER 3**  
So I hope you like where this is going. I know the chapters are relatively short, but I'm trying to only work on this in spare time and still make it a compelling story. Please let me know if it's working haha. Next chapter should be up next week or so. I'll put a more definite date in my profile page once I've decided.

A lot is happening next chapter that'll shape the story out really nicely. Stay tuned, read and review! Oh and check out Maelstrom of Konoha, it's my longer project. I'll admit it's slow in the beginning, but if you need proof it speeds up to something interesting later, skim one of the later chapters. (just try not to give yourself too many spoilers).


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